


Nostalgia

by RavenRose99



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2019-10-19 08:10:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17597555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenRose99/pseuds/RavenRose99
Summary: Five years after the events of Honerva and Allura's death, Lance finds himself still in pain, and yearning more and more for the past. Though he is happy living with his family, his dreams constantly reflect the Castle of Lions, Allura, and the thrills that came with being a paladin of Voltron. With Keith returning home for the teams annual reunion, it really becomes evident to Lance how drastically things have changed. Unknown to him, his wishes of returning to the past are more obtainable than he might think.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, Quick disclaimer here:  
> Though this is a post season 8 fic (SPOILER WARNING) I did not keep everything that happened in the show exactly the same, such as where Lance lives and the Blades technically not being called the Blades anymore. Just little details like that. This is not meant to bash the show in anyway. No I was not at all thrilled with the ending, but that has nothing to do with why little details have been altered. It simply was a creative decision I felt would help my story flow better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BldKXpXoqQg

Audio: [Read Through](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BldKXpXoqQg)

_The Castle of Lions was full of light while species from all over the universe filled its halls. The ambiance of the palace gave off a cool glow that felt so comforting, and natural. Slowly through the crowd, Lance was able to pick out the faces that made his heart ach in the best way possible. As he moved closer the heads started to turn, and lips began to curve upward, morphing into loving smiles. First Pidge, then Hunk, Shiro, Coran, Allura, and Keith. They were all there, and looked exactly how they did at the beginning; when forming Voltron was a foreign aspect to their soon to be everyday lives. Before Allura had taken on the Paladin armor; before Shiro’s hair had faded completely to a snow white hue, and before Keith had gotten his scar. Everything was simple -- and perfect._

Lance awoke to the sound of song birds chirping happily to the rising sun. He just laid there for a moment, making sure to keep perfectly still, directing all of his energy and concentration toward keeping what he had just seen from slipping away.

  
It didn’t take long for him, however, to realize where he was, and how far away those fantasies truly were. That perfect moment in time was long gone, and the harsh ache of nostalgia lodged itself firmly just at the back of his throat as the tears began to swell.

  
Allura was dead.

  
Everyone was apart.

  
He was no longer a paladin.

  
All of these were plain facts that every now and then really stabbed into his heart with a cruel, unrelenting force.

 

Lance walked into the kitchen where his mother was cooking eggs and bacon. He came up behind her and kissed her softly on the cheek.

  
“Morning, Mama.” He sung.

  
She smiled, giving him a quick kiss back, “Morning, Lance.” As she pulled away she frowned, “Your eyes, have you been crying?”

  
Lance just gave a bitter sweet smile, not trying to deny it, “I’m fine Mama, just had a happy dream.”

  
She frowned, but then allowed it to shift into a mirroring smile as she handed him his plate.

  
“Well, there’s a friend to see you in the dining room. Maybe that will cheer you up.”

  
Lance took the plate and raised a brow, “Friend?”

  
Stepping into the dining room he saw the white-haired man he felt he had just seen seconds prior take a sip of some coffee. He turned his head and peered over his glasses at Lance, giving him a smile.

  
“Morning Lance.”

  
Lance felt his heart melt a little, and he smiled, “Shiro,” He muttered fondly.

  
The two sat at the table and talked as Lance ate his breakfast.

  
“It’s been a while since we caught up,” Shiro said, “I was meaning to make time to visit sooner but-”

  
Lance shook his head, “Don’t worry, I understand. We all have busy lives now. Besides, you’re here now,” He smiled, “So, How are you and Curtis?”

  
Shiro nodded, “Good. Curtis is actually in line for a promotion, which I’m pretty sure he’s going to get.”

  
“That’s awesome, tell him I said congrats.”

  
Shiro nodded, “How about you? How have you been holding up?”

  
Lance poked at his egg a few times, taking in and letting out a breath, “Overall pretty good. This morning was rough. Had a dream about how things used to be, back on the castle of Lions… It feels like it was just yesterday our only concern was Zarkon.”

  
“I know the feeling,” Shiro said, “As trying as they were…Those were also some great times.”

  
Lance smiled softly, tearing off a piece of his beckon and grinding it between his teeth.

  
“Hey, Lance.” He peered back up, “Have you…found anyone else? Anyone special you want in your life?”

  
His chewing paused and smile quickly faded. His eyes lowered to which Shiro frowned.

  
“I can’t imagine how Allura’s death must have affected you but…No one should be alone, especially not you.”

  
Lance felt the lump in his throat start to come back, so he quickly swallowed his bacon, hoping it would get rid of the lump as well. He gave Shiro a reassuring smile, “Thanks Shiro, but I’m okay. Really.”

  
Eventually Shiro gave him a nod and stood up, “Well, I should actually get going, I’m suppose to meet Curtis for lunch at the Garrison.”

  
“Send him my regards.” Lance requested, holding out his hand, to which Shiro took and smiled.

  
“I will.” He turned as if to leave but stopped himself, “Oh, I just remembered, Keith contacted me and said he will be coming home next Thursday. I was thinking we could get the gang back together for a day.”

  
Lance’s heart lifted at the thought and he nodded without hesitation, “Of course. Count me in.”

  
Shiro grinned and waved, “See you then.”

 

* * *

 

Keith slowly stripped off his Blade of Marmora uniform to replace it with his red jacket and trademark fingerless gloves. He walked over to the mirror above his small sink and continued to tie his hair back. Once he was done he took a moment to just stare blankly at his reflection. He was so exhausted and relieved to finally be heading back to earth. He smiled at the thought of seeing the others. It had been almost a year since his last visit, four since Shiro’s wedding. Slowly he frowned really counting how long it has been. It didn’t feel that long ago they all would see each other daily, fighting Zarkon, Lotor and Honerva. Forming Voltron, piloting their lions. They really were a family, and now they hardly ever saw each other.

  
Keith felt a heavy emptiness steadily fill his chest. God he missed those days so much. Sure he was known as the lone wolf, but he actually couldn’t bare the thought of losing any of them. Shiro had promised a reunion party on his return, which lifted his heart, but there was no telling how long everyone would actually be able to stay together before life pulled them apart again.

  
“Keith, We’ve just entered earth’s orbit. Do you want to contact the Garrison?”

  
Keith turned to see his mother standing in the doorway and smiled.

  
“Yeah.”

 

The Galra ship lowered steadily over the Garrison, close enough for him to take a shuttle down to the surface. As the doors opened he was greeted by Shiro, his husband, Curtis, and Pidge. Pidge was the first to run up and hug him.

  
“Keith! Oh it feels like it’s been forever!”

  
Keith willingly hugged her back, “Tell me about it.”

  
Shiro walked up next once Pidge released him, allowing him to have his hug as well.

  
“It’s great to see you, Keith.”

  
“Likewise.” He smiled.

  
Curtis moved up next to Shiro, and once their hug ceased, he held out his hand, “Glad to see you back in one piece.”

  
Keith took it, giving it a shake and a friendly smile, “Glad to see you’re still keeping Shiro out of trouble.”

  
“It’s harder than you might think,” He chuckled.

  
“Honestly I doubt he’s at all surprised,” Pidge laughed.

  
They all joined in a collective chuckle before Keith eagerly brought up his obvious question, “Where are the others?”

  
“Coran should show up eventually,” Pidge said, “He was in the middle of teaching new potential pilots for the lions.”

  
Keith raised a brow, “I thought the pilots were already chosen.”

  
Pidge nodded, “Oh they are, we just wanted to set up a system to ensure when the time comes, a team is ready and willing to take over.”

  
Keith just let out a sigh, shaking his head, “Hard to think about new pilots in the Lions.”

  
Pidge hummed in agreement, “So much has changed.”

  
“Thankfully for the better though. The universe is safe, and people are steadily rebuilding their lives,” Shiro chimed in.

  
Keith smiled, but then recalled his earlier question, “What about Hunk and Lance, are they still coming?”

  
“Oh, right. Yes Hunk said he is more than willing to cook us dinner tonight, but he won’t be joining us until later,” Pidge said.

  
Shiro continued, “And Lance said he wouldn’t miss it for the world, so he should be here around noon.”

  
Keith smiled, “It’s good to be back.”

  
“It’s good to have you back, Keith,” Pidge said.

 

* * *

 

Lance could see the Garrison steadily come into view as he drove up in his brand new blue convertible hovercraft. The warm air brushing through his hair was enough to make his heart lift and trigger a smile. The closer he got the more of the large Galra vessel he was able to see. It was amazing how that sight used to instill fear and anger, but now only joyous excitement, always indicating Keith was home and the original group could get back together, even if it was only for a couple days.

  
He drove up to the security gates, waving to the guards standing on either side of it. Recognizing him as one of the saviors of the universe they gladly let him in. He parked his car inside one of the faculty garages and hopped out. Already his stomach was swirling with butterflies. He really needed this reunion, the past had been bringing him down a lot as of late and focusing on the present with people he loved was the perfect distraction.

  
Walking up through the Garrison security and asking around for Shiro, he eventually ran into Coran. The two shared in a long hug as Coran began explaining his day with ecstatic detail that made Lance chuckle fondly. The two then made their way to the lounge room Pidge had told Coran they would all be waiting in. The two walked down the familiar halls that brought back so many painful as well as fond memories for Lance. Where he and Allura used to talk, share quick kisses, hug, laugh, and cry. He pulled himself away from his thoughts as Coran’s voice sang happily, “Ah, here we are.”

  
Lance’s gaze turned to the door just as it slid open. The two of them apparently had walked in just as a punchline of a joke had been said because they were all laughing. Shiro and Curtis were sitting next to each other on a couch up against the wall, Pidge was in a chair at one of the tables and Keith was actually sitting on top of one of the counters. They were all facing toward each other in a close yet lopsided circle.

  
Pidge looked over her shoulder, wiping away a tear that had forced its way out due to her intense laughing. Her face lit up more seeing Lance, and just like for Keith, she was the first to jump up and dash around the table to give him a hug.

  
“Lance!” She cheered.

  
He grinned, hugging her back, then yelped when her grip tightened to a bone cracking strength, “H-hey! Easy! Don’t kill me before I can even say hi!”

  
She then let go and shot a punch to his arm, “You seriously need to visit me more! I have a whole new gaming set up you would kill for!”

  
“Pidge, I live like four hours away.”

  
“That’s closer than Hunk or Keith!”

  
Hearing Keith’s name he was encouraged to look up just as Coran had finished giving him a hug. He smiled and walked over.

  
“You seriously need to cut that thing, it’s getting out of control.” Lance teased, pointing to his hair.

  
Keith smirked, “It’s good to see you too, Lance.”

  
Lance’s expression softened and the two went in for a hug. It was firm, long and comforting for the both of them. More comforting than either had expected. Eventually though, they released each other, sharing in one more direct smile before Lance turned to Shiro and Curtis in order to give them a warm hello as well.

 

* * *

 

“Bon appetit!” Hunk sang, setting down the freshly seasoned crab dish he had just finished moments prior in the kitchen. Everyone around the table stared in aww at the toasted red shell, contrasted by the green herbs sprinkled over top. White rice surrounded the meat, making the dish somehow a work of art. Pidge had already dived in by the time the others picked up their utensils.

  
“Wow Hunk, you really outdid yourself!” Keith admitted.

  
Hunk let out a ‘pfft,’ taking a seat, “Please, this is a special moment, we hardly ever get to see each other anymore.”

  
Keith gave a small nod in agreement. The sun was just starting to set and the golden lights surrounding the dinner table in their honor were just starting to have an effect on the mood. They had been positioned on the roof of the garrison where they were all able to overlook the wide terrain where they first flew off with the blue lion.

  
“So, I hear the Galra have been doing well?” Shiro inquired.

 

Keith nodded, “Yeah, very well, and the blades have been working alongside them every step of the way. Things have really turned around, but I am glad to be home to relax for a bit. How about you all?”

  
“Well, me, Coran, and Shiro have mostly been working on helping with training cadets at the academy. Other than that, life has been pretty slow,” Pidge said with a shrug.

  
“Oh how I long for a slow life, ever since my show became such a hit I’ve been working nonstop,” Hunk confessed with a sigh.

  
“Surely you’re happy about it though,” Lance said.

  
“Well yeah, I’m living the dream, just wish it required less paperwork.”

  
The table chuckled, then Keith looked over at Lance, “What about you, sharpshooter?”

  
Lance gave a shrug, “Nothing dramatic has happened, just living my life day by day, week by week. It’s nice getting to spend so much time with my family after all that time away from them.”

  
Keith smiled, “I’m sure.”

  
Lance smiled back, then took a bite of his crab.

  
“So, everyone, except for Hunk seems to be having a pretty quiet life,” Shiro said.

  
There was a comfortable silence at the table before Lance broke it, “Let’s do something crazy together.”

  
“What? Like what?” Pidge asked.

  
“I don’t know, just something we will remember. It’s been so long since we did anything other than dinner together. I got a new ride, we could all hop in and take it for a spin!”

  
Pidge’s eyes lit up, “Wait, you got the DL6 hover craft!?”

  
Lance’s trademark smirk came into view as he reclined back in his seat, “Yeah, the convertible model too.”

  
“Oh my god! Okay, yeah, we are so doing that after dinner!” She yelled.

  
Everyone seemed to eagerly agree, and as dinner continued, Keith caught himself watching Lance a lot more than any of the others. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed that smile of his, and with the sun setting behind him, he could really admire every inch of his face. Even his Altean marks he had obtained from Allura. Keith ended up smiling to himself the more he looked the prior blue and red paladin over.

 

* * *

 

Lance sped over the rough desert terrain with ease, everyone screaming with excitement and terror. He kicked up dozens of thick dust clouds attempting intense drifts and sharp stops. The sun had just about set and the stars were slowly appearing above them. Lance sped to a cliff and stopped just short of the drop off, nearly giving Hunk a heart attack in the process. Lance put the car in park as they all peered up at the sky in silence for a few minutes. Lance then hopped out and circled around to the trunk where he pulled out a bunch of blankets.

  
“Star gazing anyone?” He asked.

 

“Lance, you are amazing,” Hunk grinned.

  
One by one they all got out to grab a blanket and pick a spot. Curtis had left before dinner in order to give them some time alone, so Shiro shared a blanket with Coran. Pidge and Hunk picked a spot next to them, leaving Keith and Lance to share a blanket.

  
Lance deemed a spot and flicked the red blanket so it gently floated to the ground. Keith kneeled down to help flatten it out.

  
“You always carry blankets in your trunk?” He asked.

  
“Yes, you never know when you might need them,” Lance insisted.

  
Keith chuckled, and took a seat beside Lance. The two then leaned onto their backs to watch more comfortably. At first they just laid there in a comfortable silence, letting the familiar and nostalgic sight of stars fill them up.

  
“Brings back memories,” Lance said quietly.

  
“Yeah, it really does,” Keith replied in a similar tone.

  
Another beat of silence fell over them before Keith turned his head, “Hey, how have you been really?”

  
Lance looked at him, “What do you mean?”

  
“I know it’s been five years, but…Shiro told me you still…You know…Haven’t tried to see anyone else.”

  
Lance frowned, and shifted his gaze back up to the sky, “I know it seems like I’m still hurting but I’m fine. You guys don’t need to worry about me.”  
Keith stared at him for a second, not believing him. He slowly shifted his gaze up to the sky as well.

  
“Lance, can I confess something?”

  
“I suppose.”

  
“…I actually haven’t fully adjusted to life yet. You know, having it be so different and without all of us together.”

  
Lance turned his head again, “Really, I figured out of all of us you would be the one to feel most comfortable on your own.”

  
“Are you kidding me,” Keith said, “Yeah I was with the blades for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss Voltron. Especially now with everyone sort of doing their own thing…I guess…I just miss this feeling. This connection.”

  
Lance stared at him for a while then slowly nodded, “I feel the same way,” He admitted quietly, “Every now and then it hits me that things are never going to go back to the way they were…And I start to feel…empty I guess.”

  
Keith frowned, “I’m sorry you have to go through that, I figured since you had your family that wouldn’t happen.”

  
“They help, don’t get me wrong, but what we all went through…Well, You can’t make it out of that without creating a special attachment, You know?”

  
Keith slowly nodded, “Yeah. I know.”

  
Another silence fell before Keith spoke again, “Remember when we were watching the sunset, and you walked up dressed in that outfit Coran made you for your date with Allura?”

  
Lance chuckled at the memory, “Man, I’m so glad you talked me out of wearing that. Who knows how that date would have turned out if you hadn’t.”

  
Keith gave a bittersweet smile, “…Yeah, who knows.”

  
“So, how long are you staying?” Lance asked.

  
“Just for today, we head back tomorrow.”

  
Lance frowned, “...Oh.”

  
Keith caught onto his tone and tried to find some way to comfort him, “Don’t worry, You’ll have the others.”

  
Lance just stared blankly at the sky, “...Yeah. Until they go back to work.”

  
Keith frowned and let out a small sigh, “I’m sorry Lance.”

  
“...Don’t be, it’s not your fault. I just…”

  
“You just what?”

Lance closed his eyes, taking in and letting out a breath, “I just feel so alone.”

  
Keith stared at him, his heart slowly breaking for the man he use to know as being so confident, and comfortable in his own skin. Lance the sharpshooter. Now though, he just looked so...crushed. Slowly Keith stood up, Lance watched him.

  
“Keith?”

  
“Come with me,” He said, holding out his hand to him.

  
Lance stared at him, then slowly took his hand and allowed Keith to pull him up.

  
“You guys okay?” Shiro asked.

  
“Yeah, just going for a walk, we’ll be back,” Keith assured him.

  
“Want us to join you?” Coran chirped.

  
“No, it’s fine, you guys keep stargazing.”

  
Coran shrugged, “Suit yourself,” and leaned back down.

  
Shiro watched as the two boys walked off, and he had a fairly good idea where Keith was taking Lance.

 

“Okay, where exactly are we going?” Lance asked, starting to sound concerned, “If you’re planning to kill me, I’d prefer it be somewhere a bit nicer than this.”

  
Keith lightly laughed, “Just trust me.”

  
Lance relaxed a little, hearing the amusement in Keith’s voice, and as he really started to take in his surroundings, he began to feel a wave of dejavu rush over him.

 

“...Hang on.”

  
Keith smiled, “Are bells ringing yet?”

  
Lance slowly nodded, peering up at the tall canyon walls and the sandy rock beneath his feet. Soon he noticed Keith had stopped so he came to a halt too. Keith was smiling, and pointed over the drop they had stopped at. Lance’s eyes followed his finger and his gaze landed on a familiar cave.

  
“...Is that-”

  
“Yup. The same cave we found the Blue Lion in.”

  
Lance was speechless, all he could muster after a while was just, “Wow.”

  
“I know. Weird isn’t it.”

  
“It looks exactly the same.”

  
Keith nodded, and the two just stared at it in silence for a decent amount of time before Lance turned to Keith, “Can we go inside?”

  
Keith gave a shrug and small nod, “Don’t see why not.”

  
The two of them managed their way down to the cave and walked inside, it was dark but Keith pulled out his blade, which when needed, could give off a faint, violet glow. They saw the hole they all made when they first arrive and the two chuckled a little, carefully making their way along the edge. The light from Keith’s blade fell across the cave wall where the ancient etchings of the blue lion were carved into the stone.

  
“I remember coming here alone and having no idea what these things meant. Who knew they were foreshadowing my future,” Keith said.

  
Lance gave a bittersweet smile, “Now our past.”

  
Keith nodded, “...Yeah.”

  
Slowly, Lance reached out and placed his hand gently over the blue lions face, just like how he did all those years ago. His smile quickly faded into a frown. He thought of flying blue, then changing to red. He thought of the castle of Lions, and Allura. All those planets and societies he saw and helped save.

  
His body tensed, feeling that awful ache in the back of his throat. He shut his eyes tight.

  
“...I want to go back,” He muttered, feeling his voice start to tremble. Very slowly he leaned forward, resting his forehead on the cold sandstone, “Please...I want everything to go back.”

  
Suddenly, he felt a cool light illuminate around him, when he opened his eyes, he noticed his Altean marks were glowing, along with the lion etchings on the cave.

  
“Lance?”

  
Lance turned his head to peer at Keith just long enough to take in his confused expression before there was a sudden shock of light. Lance yelled, shielding his eyes.

  
“Keith!”

  
Soon the light died down, allowing him to cautiously open his eyes. The cave was no longer dark, there was actually daylight seeping in through the opening.

  
“..Wha-”

  
“Hunk, you sure that thing is right?”

  
“Yeah, 100%, The source should be around here somewhere?”

  
Lance looked over his shoulder to see Shiro, Pidge, Hunk and Keith. They looked so much younger and were all wearing their original outfits from years ago.

  
“Lance, you find anything over there?” Shiro asked.

  
Lance was speechless, he slowly looked down at his own clothing which consisted of his skinny jeans, high tops, blue sleeved shirt and brown jacket.

  
“I-” Before he could manage anything else out, the lion carvings started to glow again. The entire cave became engulfed in blue light, followed by the crackling beneath his feet as the ground fell out from under him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the story so far! Not sure how long this is going to be yet but I'm really excited for this one! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance tumbled down the slick walls of the dark cavern with a terrifyingly familiar feeling shrieking throughout his body. He saw the shifting floor quickly charge up at him before meeting his body with a loud SPLASH.
> 
> His heart was beating wildly, unable to comprehend what was happening. It all just attacked him out of nowhere. He very gingerly lifted his head, seeing the others crash into the water beside him. He watched as one by one they lifted themselves up, groaning due to their now sore bodies.
> 
> “Guys…You’re all-“ before he could make out anything else, they were all staring past him with their eyes practically popping from their sockets.
> 
> “What is that?” Hunk muttered.
> 
> Lance looked over his shoulder to see the glorious sight of the Blue Lion sitting proudly with her particle barrier circling her giant form. A warm feeling rushed over Lance. This sight was a part of a moment he had always cherished. The moment that changed his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to post, College is really kicking my butt this semester. 
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm really excited to get further into it! And don't worry, there will definitly be more Klance coming up soon.

Lance tumbled down the slick walls of the dark cavern with a terrifyingly familiar feeling shrieking throughout his body. He saw the shifting floor quickly charge up at him before meeting his body with a loud SPLASH.

  
His heart was beating wildly, unable to comprehend what was happening. It all just attacked him out of nowhere. He very gingerly lifted his head, seeing the others crash into the water beside him. He watched as one by one they lifted themselves up, groaning due to their now sore bodies.

  
“Guys…You’re all-“ before he could make out anything else, they were all staring past him with their eyes practically popping from their sockets.

  
“What is that?” Hunk muttered.

  
Lance looked over his shoulder to see the glorious sight of the Blue Lion sitting proudly with her particle barrier circling her giant form. A warm feeling rushed over Lance. This sight was a part of a moment he had always cherished. The moment that changed his life forever.

  
While he sat there, wide eyed and motionless, the others had already picked themselves up and began walking over to the left leg of Voltron. Hunk, however, stopped and turned, noticing Lance’s horrified expression.

  
“Lance? You okay?”

  
The Cuban boy blinked, looking over Hunk’s round, younger figure. He hadn’t fully realized how much the yellow paladin had changed physically over the years. The look of concern in his eyes, however, hadn’t altered a bit.

  
Lance hesitantly took Hunk’s hand, allowing him to pull him to his feet.

  
“Yeah, sorry.”

  
“This must be it, the source of all that energy,” Pidge said.

  
“This is what the Galra want,” Shiro said confidently.

  
“This is Voltron?” Keith asked.

  
“No,” Lance found himself blurting out, and all eyes were on him.

  
“What do you mean n- ” Keith was cut off due to the same reason everyone else gasped. It was the vision of Voltron lodging itself into their minds, all except Lance. He watched as their bodies stiffened for a moment just before a sudden flash of light filled his own mind. He gasped a little, but then felt his body steadily relax. Like all the stress and panic was just flooding from his body.

  
When the light finally died down, all he could see was a plethora of color and stars. The realization slowly came to him that he was floating through space. Calmly and completely weightless.

  
“So…This is what you wanted, right?” A voice echoed around him.

  
“W-what?” Lance struggled to ask.

  
“I’m granting your wish. You wanted everything to go back to normal, right?”

  
Lance blinked, and tried to tilt his body upward, triggering it into a slow, lazy spin.

  
“Who are you?” He asked, looking around the empty abyss of space, feeling surprisingly calm.

  
The disembodied voice clicked his tongue a few times, “Lance, has it really been that long? Or are you still just as dumb as you were before?”

 

Suddenly his eyes widen as it all clicked into place, “Wait? Bob?!”

  
“Ding ding ding, We have a winner folks!” The echoing voice slowly homed in directly in front of Lance. His eyes fell onto where the outline of the small alien figure began to form, “100 points to the man in question!”

  
“How are you here? How am I here? What is-“

  
“Now settle down Lance,” Bob said, holding up his hand, “Didn’t Coran tell you who I am?”

  
“Well…Yeah but…I didn’t-“

  
“Listen Lance, I’m going to cut straight to the point. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and the others ever since our little meeting, and out of everyone you have been the most intriguing.”  
Lance raised a brow, “Me? Why? I’m just living with my family.”

  
“But you are the only one that wants to go back so badly you will wish it allowed…And mean it.”

  
Lance swallowed and looked down.

  
“Oh, don’t feel bad Lance,” Bob sang, “I’m here to give you a once in a lifetime offer, to make that wish a reality!”

  
His eyes lifted back up to the small alien, “What?”

  
“How would you like a chance to relive the past? All of the good times you shared, The Castle of Lions, Allura, everything! You can re-live it all.”

  
Lance’s mouth fell slightly ajar at the thought, “You can really do that?”

  
Bob smirked, folding his arms, “Are you really asking me that?”

  
Lance took a breath and started to smile, “We can be together again…All of us…”

  
Bob smiled, “The Paladins of Voltron, together again for one last run.”

  
“…Not only that, I could save lives! I could be a paladin again!” He trailed off, smiling more to himself, “I could be with Allura…”

  
Bob hummed lightly, “Does this mean you accept my offer?”

  
Lance hesitated, looking back up at Bob, “What do you want from me though? I’ve seen enough movies to know deals like this go two ways, and usually the guy in my position gets screwed over.”

  
Bob shook his head, raising his arms, “Look Lance, You helped save not only the universe, but the entire structure of time and space. Countless realities are alive thanks to you, and if you hadn’t noticed, the existence of the cosmos is kind of my thing,” He said with a chuckle, “Think of it as nothing more than a thank you gift, and to appease my own curiosity.”

  
Lance stared at him for a moment, then looked down, trying to gather his thoughts. The idea of seeing Allura again, living in the Castle of Lions, and flying Blue…It was all to good to be true…and yet…it could be.

  
A smile spread across his lips, and without a second thought he nodded, “Yes.”

 

* * *

 

Lance awoke from one of his most well rested sleeps he had had in a very long time. As he swung his legs over the side of his bunk, he had almost forgotten his deal with Bob. It was the blue lion slippers that reminded him, and a rush of excitement filled his body. He looked around his currently barren room, it was just how he remembered it. He stood up, slipping on the matching blue paladin robe. Very slowly, he peeked out of his room down the hallway. Could this really be real? It looked real enough. He gently knocked on one of the walls just outside of his room and glided his hand over its slick surface. It felt real enough too.

  
Suddenly the blaring sound of the emergency alarm sang violently through the castle.

  
“Everybody up! Zarkon’s attacking!”

  
Lance’s eyes widened, “Allura…”

  
He quickly sprinted toward the main control deck. He ran into Shiro along the way, already dressed in his Paladin armor. Soon they were joined by Keith as well. As they frantically entered the room Shiro took charge.

  
“Princess, What’s wrong!?”

  
Allura spun around with fire in her eyes, the mere sight of her took Lance’s breath away.

  
“The problem is there are only three of you here and it took you far too long to arrive!”

  
Pidge scrambled into the room, then Hunk.

  
“W-Wha-ahhhh,” Hunk yawned before finishing his sentence, “What’s happening?”

  
“You five are paladins now! You need to learn to be ready when there is danger!” She yelled, “Coran, how long did they take?”

“75 degrees.”

  
There was a short silence before Coran realized what he had just said, “Oh, sorry, this is a thermometer. The point is you took too long!”

  
Allura just stared at him with a disapproving look, “Thank you Coran.”

  
“Look, we are still adjusting to this whole paladin thing,” Shiro said, “You need to give us time.”

  
Allura frowned, “Time is something we don’t have. Zarkon can attack us any day now. You all forming Voltron yesterday was very lucky, but you need to be able to do it again and again.”  
Her eyes finally met Lance, and she raised a brow, “Is this all funny to you?” She asked.

  
Lance blinked, realizing he had been smiling the entire time, “N-no! Sorry Allura I-“

  
“Ooo, looks like someone has a crush,” Hunk muttered to Pidge.

  
Allura let out a slightly frustrated puff of air but then quickly regained her composure, “All of you, to the Lions. You need to build your bond as a team.”

 

As Lance put on his paladin armor and took a seat inside the blue lion, he felt so at home. He allowed himself to grin as much as he wanted now that no one could see him. Everything felt right. He flew blue around like a natural, which only rekindled his competitive nature with Keith. He couldn’t help it, the feeling came with the memories.

  
“Lance! Will you quit goofing around?!” Keith yelled after Lance pulled off his third summersault with the lion.

  
Lance laughed, the frustration in Keith’s younger voice only edged him on, “What? Don’t think you can keep up?”

  
With that, Lance left the formation and sped on ahead, rising up further into the sky. There was a moment of silence, just before he saw on one of his screens the red lion charging after him.  
“Keith!” Shiro yelled, but the hot head wasn’t about to give up his reputation as the best pilot.

  
Lance felt his chest fill with even more giddy joy, “Knew you couldn’t resist.”

  
“Only because I know I’ll win,” Keith said just as the red lion sped past Blue.

  
Lance smirked and kicked up the boosters, managing to keep up with Keith pretty well. He had forgotten how slow Blue was in comparison to Red, but honestly, he couldn’t care less right now, he was having too much fun.

 

“How is it you suck at the Garrison simulation, but are amazing at flying a giant robotic cat?” Pidge asked.

  
“Don’t know, guess I’m just that amazing,” Lance smirked, they all had just finished up with their training, and managed to form Voltron a lot faster than Lance remembered. He figured it was because he already had a special bond with each of them.

  
“I just want you to know, when we were in Voltron, I realized, We’re brothers’ man!” Hunk said, pulling both him and Keith into a tight hug. Lance chuckled while Keith just smiled.

  
“Have the G-Forces been messing with your head?” He asked.

  
“No, I really mean it!”

  
“We did really good today guys,” Shiro said with a smile, “I think we’ve earned a break. Tomorrow we hit the training deck again.”

  
Lance grinned, “Sure thing, Shiro.”

 

That night Lance couldn’t sleep fearing he would wake up and find this all was a dream, so instead, he decided to just walk through the castle’s halls and reminisce on memories the others hadn't even experienced yet. Slowly he passed the training deck which he was surprised to see was occupied. Slowly he peaked in to see Keith sparring with the Altean gladiator that he recalled turned evil on him mid-session once.

  
Lance watched him for a second before walking in. Keith hadn’t noticed so he decided to make himself known.

  
“Staying up late?”

  
Keith jumped and turned. He just stared at Lance long enough for the robot to hit Keith in the back, knocking him over. He fell onto his stomach and the gladiator was about to deliver a final blow.

  
“End training sequence!” Both Keith and Lance said frantically at the same time.

  
The robot came to a stop, then slouched over, limp. Lance walked up to Keith as he winced, slowly sitting up.

  
“Sorry about that,” Lance said, offering a hand to him.

  
Keith just stared at him before helping himself up. Lance slowly lowered his arm to his side.

  
“So, you seem pretty good with that thing already,” Lance said, pointing to his bayard.

  
Keith looked at him, down to his bayard, then back at him suspiciously, “Yeah, I guess so.”

  
Lance smiled, “Have you ever sucked at sword fighting, or does it come just as naturally to you as flying?”

  
Keith glared at him a little, “What is this?” he asked.

  
Lance raised a brow, “What?”

  
“Why are you acting like this all of the sudden? Like we’re friends?”

  
Lance’s stomach dropped a bit, “Because we are friends.” He hadn’t really thought that one through.

  
“We’ve only really known each other for a day,” Keith said.

  
Lance suddenly felt really awkward, not sure how to dig himself out of this one.

  
“Sorry…I just…You know what never mind, sorry to bother you. Just pretend like I was never here.” He turned and started to walk out, but was halted by Keith’s voice.

  
“My dad taught me.”

  
Lance turned around, and Keith continued.

  
“…My dad was a firefighter, but he also knew some hand to hand combat…so that was kind of our thing.”

  
Lance’s mouth hung slightly ajar, “I never knew that,” He muttered, which really didn’t help his situation, but Keith seemed to just accept it with a nod.

  
Lance smiled, “Your dad sounds cool.”

  
Keith nodded again, “He was.”

  
There was a comfortable silence between the two before Lance noticed how long they had just been staring at each other.

  
“I’ll uh…Leave you to it then,” He said pointing to the gladiator.

  
Keith gave a small smile, and with that Lance turned to leave the room.

 

Haggar’s first robeast attacked right on schedule, and during the fight, Lance may or may not have tried to adjust his wording in order to trigger Shiro’s memories a bit faster. Throwing in phrases like; “This guy fights like he’s in a cage match,” or “Doesn’t this Voltron thing have any weapons?”

  
Needless to say it was hard attempting to get over the thrill of being a paladin again, while also trying to sound convincing. In the end however, they were still victorious.

  
That night the arusians all came to the castle of Lions just like before. Lance knew better than to drink any of what Coran was offering. He had learned his lesson last time. He watched as Allura handed off the first communication device to the king of the tribe and his heart filled with pride. Once she was done, he decided to take his chance, and followed her up the stairs, where she had been chatting with the mice.

  
“Um, hey Princess.”

  
Allura looked over at him, giving him a friendly smile, “Oh, hello Lance. Please forgive me for my rudeness in the past. You all are actually doing very well. I’m just not used to having all of this responsibility.”

  
Lance smiled, “Well, you’re doing a great job.”

  
She sighed, leaning against the railing, “I hope so. There is so much at stake. The universe is depending on us to defeat Zarkon.”

  
“And we will,” He said confidently, “I know we will.”

  
She stared at him for a second then smiled, “I believe I misjudged you Lance, I apologize.”

  
The two shared in a soft smile just as they heard a commotion from below.

  
“If you leave, we can’t form Voltron!” Keith yelled.

  
“You can’t tell me what to do!” Pidge yelled back.

  
“That’s enough, both of you!” Shiro intervened.

  
Lance and Allura rushed their way down the stairs over to the group, “What’s going on?” Allura asked.

  
Keith let out an aggravated groan, “Pidge wants to leave!”

  
“What?” Allura asked.

  
“Look, my family is out there, I finally have the ability to actually search for them! You can’t stop me!”

  
Allura shook her head, “Pidge, please, we need you here, with us. You are a paladin of Voltron!”

  
“Well then find someone else to replace me!” Pidge yelled.

  
“You are abandoning this team if you leave! You’d be running away!” Keith glared at her.

  
Lance felt a cold wave rush over him hearing those words come out of Keith’s mouth, and his eyes just glued onto him. That was exactly how Lance viewed Keith leaving. He thought he was just abandoning the team…Running away…

  
Keith saw Lance’s stare and glared at him, “What?!”

  
Lance frowned, looking away, “Nothing…It doesn’t matter.”

  
Keith stared at him, his anger drifting away to be replaced with silent confusion. Before anything else could be said however there was a sudden rumble through out the castle and the lights flickered out. Lance’s eyes widened as realization shot through him. The bomb. He had completely forgotten about this part. The invasion.

  
“What was that?” Pidge yelled looking around.

  
Coran!, Lance thought, and he immediately spun around and started sprinting to the control deck.

  
On arrival, they saw the ginger haired man laying limp on the ground, surrounded by debris.

  
“Coran!” Allura cried out, kneeling down beside him, Shiro joined her, gently cradling his head.

  
Lance couldn’t believe it, this was his fault. This was one of the main reasons he came back, to stop this kind of stuff from happening. Only a couple days in and he had already failed.  
Coran groaned, thankfully indicating he was still alive, “…Prin…cess…” He muttered out weakly, before he gave into his fatigue and passed out.

  
Allura gritted her teeth, then turned to Shiro, “We have to get him into a cryo pod, It’s the only way he will survive!”

  
Shiro nodded and turned to Keith, “Keith, with me.”

  
Pidge looked up at the shattered crystal, “What was destroyed?”

  
Allura looked up, dread washing over her face, “The Crystal.”

  
“Crystal?” Hunk asked.

  
“It’s the source of the castles power, without one it won’t be able to function.”

  
“Well can we get a new one?” Pidge asked.

  
“If I remember correctly, it was an Altean custom to get them from a balmera, but I never performed the ceremony.”

  
“Well who can we contact that knows how?” Hunk asked.

  
Allura looked at Coran’s limp body as both Keith and Shiro wrapped each of his arms around their shoulders.

  
“Coran would be the only one who would remember how to do it,” She answered.

  
Lance clenched his jaw, he had really screwed up. If he remembered correctly, apparently Coran had left while he was unconscious to get the crystal. Now they had to wait until he was strong enough to even make the journey.

  
“Don’t worry princess,” Shiro said, looking her directly in the eye, “He will be okay. Everything is going to work out fine.”

  
Allura stared at him then slowly nodded.

  
“Paladins! You must help us!” Everyone turned to see the king of the Arusian tribe rush in, “Our village is under attack! Please, we need Voltron!”

  
“Galra?” Pidge asked.

  
The Arusian nodded and Allura glared.

  
“We can’t use the lions, the hanger doors are sealed shut…Shiro, Keith, continue to the infirmary, the rest of you, with me. We are going to the village on foot.”

  
Lance blinked, “Wait!”

  
Everyone looked at him.

  
“What is it, Lance?” Allura asked.

  
His mind was blank, he knew the village was a trap from what everyone had told him, but he couldn’t remember anything specific. He was unconscious throughout the entire invasion, he just remembered taking a shot at Sendak, then Keith helping him up. That’s it. Frustrated he gritted his teeth. He felt so useless. He knew something was going to happen, but he didn’t know how to counter it.

  
“Lance?” Pidge said.

  
Lance looked up at her, then Allura.

  
“…We shouldn’t all go to the village…Some of us should stay and search the castle. Someone planted the bomb in here, right?”

  
Allura realized his point and nodded, “Very well. You and Pidge stay here while Shiro and Keith take Coran to the infirmary. Hunk and I will go to the village.”

  
Hunk gulped, “A-are you sure you want me with you?”

  
“Please Hunk, these people need us.”

  
Hunk stared at her, took a deep breath then nodded, “Yeah…Okay.”

  
She gave him a small smile than the two of them ran off, shortly followed by Shiro and Keith carrying Coran. Lance watched them all leave, his stomach swirling with dread. Despite his obvious advantage, he still didn’t know how this was going to end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He let out a small sigh. It honestly didn’t sound like the smartest plan. He wondered if he should wait for Pidge, that way he would have some form of backup in case things went south. However, there was no telling how long she would take, and the last thing he wanted to do was waste time. At least he could knock a few soldiers out before the others arrived.
> 
> Suddenly, all the lights flickered, and there was a loud hum before everything went dark.
> 
> “Okay sharpshooter,” He whispered to himself, “Don’t miss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is pretty short compared to the others, but I hope the Klance moments make up for that. I feel like I say this everytime I post a new chapter but I am so excited to keep writing this story. I've got so made twists and turns I'm really looking forward to sharing with you guys!

“We should probably split up to cover more ground,” Pidge suggested, “I can program Rover to help out too.”

  
She lifted her arm and started tapping into her suits holographic monitor. Lance nodded, he figured as long as he stayed within the castle, he’d be able to help. No, he didn’t know where or how Sendak and his troops entered the castle, but at least he knew they were on their way, and that was better than nothing.

  
“I’ll get the lower decks,” Lance said, “We can contact Allura if we find anyone. Plus, with Keith and Shiro already here we should have no problem keeping whoever set that bomb at bay.”

  
Pidge nodded, and smiled at Rover, “C’mon buddy.”

  
Rover gave a squeal and followed her out. Lance pulled out his bayard, which morphed into his traditional blue rifle. He stared at it, taking a deep breath in and out.

  
“You can do this Lance,” He muttered to himself, then rushed off to prepare for Sendak.

 

Lance was halfway through his section of the castle when the power came back on, only the neon blue tint had been replaced with a violet hue. He raised a brow, peering wearily down the vaguely lit hall.

  
“Pidge? Pidge was that you?” He asked into his mic.

  
“No, I didn’t touch anything.”

  
Lance’s eyes narrowed. It had to be Sendak.

  
“Allura? Can you hear me?” Lance asked.

  
Allura’s voice came through panting, as if she had just finished sprinting, “I’m here. Just outside the castle. The particle barrier has been raised.”

  
“But you said the castle couldn’t function without a crystal,” Pidge said.

  
“The Galra invasion was a lie. They were all just decoys, which means they must have entered the castle and installed their own crystal.”

  
“What should we do?” Lance asked.

  
There was a beat of silence from Allura, before she talked very clearly and directly to Pidge.

  
“Pidge, I need you to go to the Engine control panel. There you should be able to override the Galra’s crystal. That should lift the particle barrier for me and Hunk.”

  
“I’m on it,” Pidge answered.

  
“Lance,” Allura’s voice came again, “See if you can find whomever is responsible for this, and make sure nothing has happened to the others.”

  
He nodded, “Roger that.”

 

Lance managed to sneak his way just outside the doors to the control deck where two centuries stood guard. Sendak was almost certainly on the other side. Lance hadn’t run into Shiro or Keith while making his way there, so he could only assume they had gotten to them first.

  
He took a knee, waiting for Pidge to finish up her part of the plan, allowing him some time to really figure out his next few moves. He knew he could easily sniper the two centuries, but that would certainly cause a commotion, meaning he would then just have to charge in and hope for the best.

  
He let out a small sigh. It honestly didn’t sound like the smartest plan. He wondered if he should wait for Pidge, that way he would have some form of backup in case things went south. However, there was no telling how long she would take, and the last thing he wanted to do was waste time. At least he could knock a few soldiers out before the others arrived.

  
Suddenly, all the lights flickered, and there was a loud hum before everything went dark.

  
“Okay sharpshooter,” He whispered to himself, “Don’t miss.”

  
With that he shot out from around his cover and managed to fire two quick, perfect headshots, knocking the robots over, their bodies hitting the metal floor with a loud CLANK. Without wasting any time, he sprinted forward, opening the door to see five more centuries and two Galran soldiers, (not including Sendak) who stood more toward the center of the room. Using the element of surprise to his advantage, and his several year’s worth of paladin training under his belt, he shot all the centuries either in the chests, head, or legs.

  
As he ran further in, his eyes fell onto three unconscious figures; Shiro, Coran and Keith. His eyes widened. Despite knowing them being there was logical, seeing them all beaten up like that really hit him hard. Due to his mistake both Coran AND Keith had now taken his place. He glared at the sight, hitting away one of the soldiers and shooting at the other before quickly directing the nose of his gun at Sendak.

  
Everyone in the room froze, Sendak looking rather taken aback, but then regained his threatening demeanor.

  
“You are much more skilled than I had anticipated, Paladin.”

  
Lance’s glare just hardened, “Take both your crystal and your troops and leave Arus!” Lance shouted. He already knew it wouldn’t do any good, this was Sendak. The soldier who nearly destroyed earth because he wouldn’t back down. It literally took Keith’s blade to put a stop to him once and for all.

  
“Brave words for someone who is on their own,” and with that Sendak flung his arm forward.

  
Lance managed to roll out of the way and fire a few shots at him, which he avoided by running in front of Shiro, Coran and Keith, which obviously forced Lance to quickly seize firing. Sendak used this opening to his advantage and shot another punch with his large arm. It hit Lance in the side, flinging his body across the room, landing just short of their violet crystal. His gun hit the ground and reverted back into it’s original bayard form. He groaned, sitting up to see Sendak’s arm heading for him again just before a sudden burst of yellow light illuminated the room. It was Hunk with his blaster, and one of his bullets had just hit Sendak in the back, triggering him to quickly spin around.

  
Lance peered up past him to get a glimpse of Allura and Pidge standing beside him, looking just as fierce as ever.

  
“Lance!” Pidge yelled, already doing some form of hacking from her suit, “Move away from the crystal!”

  
Hunk was starting to force Sendak backward toward Lance, who quickly grabbed his bayard and started to bolt around him but was almost immediately halted. The large claws from Sendak’s arm curled around Lance’s chest and lifted him into the air. Hunk immediately stopped firing, fearing he might hit Lance.

  
“Lance!” He cried out.

  
As much as Lance struggled, the soldiers grip was strong, too strong for Lance to break. Thankfully however, he was freed after the sharp sound of a blade shrieked just behind him. His body fell back down to the ground along with Sendak’s clawed fist still gripping around his torso. As he pried the robotic fingers off of him and turned his head, he saw Keith, staggering a little with his bayard in hand, staring the now partially armless Sendak down.

  
Sendak cried out, stumbling back just enough to where Pidge was able to activate a small particle barrier around the crystal, capturing Sendak in the process. He growled and slammed his fist on the purple shield.

  
“Keith?” Lance said, looking up as the Red paladin weakly staggered. He eventually dropped his bayard and began to fall over himself.

  
“Keith!” Lance jumped up, catching Keith’s body just before it hit the ground. He was weak, and breathing faintly, but alive, “Keith, are you okay?”

  
Keith’s deep violet eyes peaked open, peering up at Lance. He swallowed and took a breath, “Guess we aren’t that bad of a team afterall…Huh.” He admitted with the smallest of smirks.

  
Lance stared at him, jaw hanging slightly ajar. A warm feeling came rushing over him as he stared down at Keith, bruised and hurt, yet smiling. As much as he denied it, Lance had remembered their first bonding moment, so reliving it like this was…well…different.

  
Eventually he smiled back, “Yeah, guess so.”

 

“What do you mean they can’t be healed?” Lance asked frantically.

  
“The crystal they implanted isn’t the same kind of altean crystal the castle is used to. I do not trust it to give the cryo pod’s power,” Allura said.

 

“Then what are we going to do?” Hunk asked.

  
Shiro, Keith, and Coran were still out of commission, and needed serious medical attention as soon as possible.

  
Allura thought for a moment, then took a breath, “The cryo pods can at least act as a stasis chamber for them. They won’t be healing, but they won’t get any worse either. Hunk and I are going to look for a Balmera.”

  
Hunk stiffened, “But, I thought you said you have never done the whole Altean ceremony thing.”

  
She sighed, “No, I haven’t, but right now I’m the only Altean in existence...I need to try.”

 

Shiro, Keith and Coran were placed in the pods while Allura and Hunk left to search for a Balmera. Pidge made sure to keep Sendak in the stasis chamber while also studying the crystal the Galra installed into the castle. All in all, the castle felt very lonely.

  
Lance walked up to the cryo pods. Each of their bodies unconsciously floating. He frowned, and let out a sigh, “…I’m so sorry, this is all my fault.”

  
He looked down, stuffing his hands into his pockets, and walked closer to the only one out of the three he felt closest to -- Keith.

  
He stared up at him for a moment, really taking in how much younger he looked, then turned in order to take a seat at the foot of his pod.

  
“This wasn’t supposed to happen, I swear. I really was planning to help with these kinds of situations…But now it seems like I’ve just made things worse,” He closed his eyes and gently let his head fall back against the pod.

  
“You know Keith, I never really told you this…but back at the Garrison…The entire reason I started that whole rivalry thing…was because I actually just wanted to be your friend but didn’t really know how to get close to you.”

  
He let a beat of silence fall before continuing.

  
“Yeah, I was jealous, that’s a given…but I also just thought you were so cool, and confident in who you were. You didn’t need to impress anyone to feel validation,” Lance smiled, “I think that’s why you made such a good paladin, and leader. You knew who you were, even when you had no idea who your mom was, or where you came from.”

  
Lance looked over his shoulder up at him for a second, then back down, “Sorry, not yet,” He chuckled.

  
“You’re going to make it through this, Keith. You’re going to find your place in the blade of Marmora…You’re going to find your mom…And you’re going to be an amazing leader. Better even than Shiro, and I wouldn’t try to change any of that even if I could,” He smiled, tilting his head back again, resting it against the pod, “Guess what I’m basically trying to say is -- It’s an honor to call you my friend, Keith.”

  
It was about then that he suddenly realized how exhausted he was. He had hardly slept at all since he arrived. His eye lids grew heavier and heavier, and soon enough, he had fallen fast asleep.

 

 

“Lance…Lance…”

  
Lance slowly opened his eyes to be greeted by the deep, swirling colors of space. His body once again weightless, and in a state of pure serenity.

  
“Lance.”

  
Lance adjusted his vision ever so slightly, homing in onto the little alien figure floating in front of him.

  
“Bob,” Lance frowned, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I’ve already screwed up.”

  
Bob lifted his hand, “That’s not why I’m here Lance. I’m here to warn you.”

  
Lance raised a brow, “Warn me?”

  
“You have reached the point where things are no longer going to fall perfectly into alignment as you remember. You have officially triggered a new timeline.”

  
Lance frowned, “I know.”

  
“Don’t worry, I knew this would happen. It was the point I sent you back. I was curious how and when you would alter it, but now that it has happened, I need to remind you that you and your friends’ safety is no longer guaranteed.”

  
Lance’s eyes filled with dread, his jaw slightly clenching.

  
“Today I understand, you were distracted, and the bomb slipped your mind, but now it is up to you to keep your friends safe. You know the events that are bound to happen. I cannot intervene,” Bob looked him square in the eye, “You have a huge responsibility, Lance. That’s the price for reliving your past.”

  
Lance carefully narrowed his eyes and nodded.

 

 

“Lance? Hey, Lance. Wake up.”

  
Lance’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of Pidge’s voice as she gently shook his shoulder.

  
“Huh, oh, Pidge. Hey.”

  
Observing the room more, he realized the neon blue glow had returned. His eyes widened, and he spun around to see Keith still floating peacefully, but now the healing systems were working. Shiro and Coran were in the same situation.

  
“She did it!” Lance grinned.

  
Pidge smiled, “Yeah, she said they should be fine in a couple of hours.”

  
Lance leaned back against Keith’s pod, and sighed with relief.

  
“What were you doing here anyway? I thought you hated Keith.”

  
Lance looked up at her, “O-oh, um, no I don’t.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Did it really come off that way?” He winced a little at the memory.

  
“Uh, yeah. You looked pretty ticked off when he started carrying Shiro out of that lab.”

  
Lance frowned, “I guess I was.”

  
Pidge raised a brow, but decided not to push the issue any further, “Well, either way, Allura wanted all of us to meet on the control deck once they’re healed. She said we need to discuss our next moves.”

  
Lance nodded, “Right, I’ll be there.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance turned back to look at the robeast. He didn’t know how much longer they had before it rebooted itself, but he made sure he was positioned in a way to where he could make a bee line for Blue when it happened.
> 
> “Something wrong?”
> 
> Lance looked over his shoulder to see Keith behind him, arms crossed, and brow furrowed. The tone in his voice was a chest tightening mixture of suspicion, and impatience.
> 
> “No. Everything’s fine,” Lance answered quickly, to which Keith just squinted. Lance mirrored the look, then directed his attention back to Allura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'll be honest, this is definitly not my favorite chapter that I've written, mainly because alot of it is just rewritting stuff that has happened in the show. It was mainly just a chapter to get from Point A to Point B and emphasize that Lance is able to slightly alter things now. 
> 
> So regardless, I hope you enjoy!

Allura and Hunk explained the Balmera’s situation, adamant they return to save Shay and her people. Shiro, Keith and Coran had completely healed at this point and were more than willing to answer the Balmeren’s cry for help. The crystal Allura managed to obtain ran the castle beautifully, allowing them to take off right away. On their way there, however, they were stopped by a distress signal Lance wasn’t especially keen to answer.

“Allura, should we really be stopping to help complete strangers?” He asked, fully aware it was Rolo and Nima.

“Yeah, Shay and her people should be our top priority right now,” Hunk agreed.

“Voltron is a symbol of peace and unity,” Allura said, “We do not turn away from those who need help.”

Lance let out a small sigh. At least he knew he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

 

Rolo and Nima looked just as trusting as they did on their first encounter, but Lance knew better. No matter how pretty Nima was, or how much she would flutter her eyelashes, he was not about to let her chain him to a tree again.

“We’d be more than happy to help you repair your ship,” Shiro said with a smile.

“As long as we can do it quickly. Kind of have somewhere we need to be,” Hunk cut in abrasively.

“Yes, yes of course,” Rolo said.

Lance knew they really just wanted to steal the lions, but he had no real way to really prove it. So, he resorted to just keeping an eye on them, and hope Hunk would be able to make the repairs quickly.

“Hey tough guy,” Nima said, resting her elbow on Lance’s shoulder.

‘Oh boy, here we go,’ Lance thought.

“So, you’re a ‘paladin’, huh?”

“Yup, one of five,” He said, trying to somehow direct her attention away from him. It was a really weird flip in contrast to the first time they met. He seriously had matured over the years, and in a weird way it made him proud of himself.

“You must be very brave,” She sighed.

Man, knowing this was all an act made him realize how cheesy her performance actually was.

“Look, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m really not interested.”

“Is everything okay over here?” Came the elegant voice of Allura. Lance turned to her and let out a small sigh of relief.

Nima took a second to look them both over, then almost immediately dropped the act with a neutral smile, “Oh, I get it. Sorry.”

And with that she gave him a wave and walked over to Rolo. Lance blinked a few times, then grinned, “Thank you,” He muttered to Allura.

She smiled, “You looked rather uncomfortable. Figured you needed saving.”

He chuckled, “Saving from you princess is enough to sweep me off my feet.”

Allura started laughing, “Oh, is that what you consider flirting?”

“Why, would you prefer cheesier pick-up lines? Because trust me, I have an arsenal ready.”

Allura shook her head, a playful smile still lingering on her lips, “Oh, I’m not sure I could handle that.”

Lance was slightly shocked, but pleasantly so. Allura never used to enjoy his flirty attitude. She always seemed more annoyed than anything, but seeing this change in character made his heart fill with excitement, realizing he might have rendered their relationship into something more romantic already. His blissful epiphany, however, was broken once his eyes drifted past Allura’s shoulder. He watched as Nima walked over to Rolo and whispered something in his ear before pointing at Keith. Lance frowned, knowing whatever they were planning couldn’t be good.

Rolo gave Nima and nod and stood up, strolling over to Keith who was, as always, standing away from the group. Lance starred as Rolo began to strike up a conversation with the lone wolf, casually leaning against the ship in a very…flirty way?

Lance felt his entire body cringe and stiffen. ‘No way’ He thought, ‘No way are they trying to make Keith fall for that stunt. He would never --’

To Lance’s shock, Rolo was actually making Keith smile…then chuckle…then actually turn his entire body to face him more directly.

Lance was at a loss for words. All he could do was just stare with his jaw dropped. How the hell had Rolo gained Keith’s trust quicker than he had? It made Lance’s thoughts linger back in time to try and remember if Keith was that open with Rolo before. 

“Lance, are you okay?”

The blue paladin blinked, quickly returning to the present. He peered at Allura as she curiously lifted a brow.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Um,” His eyes drifted back over to Rolo and Keith who was now making full on eye contact and smiling.

“Would you excuse me for a second?” He gave her a sheepish smile before quickly dashing over to where Keith and Rolo were…well…small talking.

“Hey,” He blurted out.

Rolo fixed his gaze on him, presenting a friendly smile, “Uh, hey.”

Lance folded his arms, “Chatting a lot for someone who’s desperate to get their ship up and running.”

Keith’s expression morphed into a glare, but Lance ignored it, he was determined to keep the scavengers in check, even if that meant stopping Rolo from…flirting with Keith? Was that what was happening? He honestly wasn’t sure. 

“Right, of course. You all are busy people, my apologies. I’ll get back to work.”

And with that he walked over to the bin of parts Hunk had brought out for him. Once out of ear shot Keith flung his body around to face Lance, looking more than a little pissed off. Man he must have really enjoyed talking with Rolo.

“What the hell was that?” Keith spat.

“I don’t trust these guys as far as I could throw them,” Lance started, “and neither should you,” he finished, jabbing his finger into Keith’s chest, to which the red paladin quickly batted away.

“We were just talking!”

“Was it about the Red Lion?”

Keith immediately backed down a little and his eyes widening slightly, “Yeah…how did you-”

“I don’t think these guys are just simple travelers in need of a little help, they’re being a little too friendly?”

Keith stared at him, then allowed his eyes to drift over to Rolo and Nima suspiciously.

“Plus the Lions probably have a huge bounty on them.”

He turned back to Lance, “How are you so sure?”

“I just…I just am okay. Call it a sixth sense.”

Keith just lifted an eyebrow.

“Come on man,” Lance sighed, “You’re probably the most suspicious and logical thinker on the team. Surely you can see where I’m coming from.”

Keith squinted at him, but then directed his attention back to Rolo and Nima just in time to catch them shoot each other a look. It was fast, but Keith was able to pick out the annoyance and impatience in their expressions.

“…Okay…I’ll admit it. You might be onto something,” Keith muttered.

“Thank you,” Lance sighed with a grin.

Keith made his way over to Shiro. Most likely to voice their suspicions to him. Lance couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t remember any moment in his original timeline where Keith had actually agreed with him this early on. It seemed as though not only one, but two very important relationships to him were already changing for the better.

 

“Well, You’re all patched up,” Hunk started, “Sorry if we don’t stick around for proper goodbyes, but we’re kind of in a hurry,” He finished impatiently.

Rolo just smiled, “Thank you all so much. I wish there was some way we could repay you.”

“Just doing our job,” Shiro said.

Rolo nodded, “Well, we will never forget your kindness.”

Everyone began heading back onto the castle of lions. Lance turned and shot them one last look, noticing the frustration subtly leaking through their forced smiles, which only triggered a smug smirk on Lance’s part as he entered into the castle.

 

“What? She’s not my girlfriend! Shay is just a rock that I met and I admire very much,” Hunk defended against Pidge’s teasing. Lance let out a small chuckle, knowing full well the two would end up getting engaged. At least in his timeline. Now though there was no telling what might happen to them. His smile quickly faded at the thought.

“Lance? You alright buddy?” Shiro asked, his voice lingering on the edge of concern.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Just a bit tired.”

“Well, you better wake up, because we’re here,” Coran called back to him.

Everyone scurried to the front of the deck, peering up at the screen which showed the noble Balmera, sick and dying thanks to the Galra.

 

The plan wasn’t much different to how Lance remembered it, and he had no reason to try and change it. Everything worked out pretty well if he recalled correctly. The only thing he had to worry about was the robeast, which thankfully wasn’t due to arrive for a while. 

Lance and Keith teamed up and zoomed through the Balmera’s caverns on their speeders, eventually coming across the Galra’s hangar bay. The two jumped out and dashed behind some cover. Lance saw Keith reach for his bayard.

“Alright, Let’s -”

Lance shot his arm out in front of him, blocking the red paladin from moving any further, “Slow down tough guy, we can’t jump in and start flailing around. This thing is alive remember.”

“Oh…Right.” He put his bayard away and pulled an amusing thinking face.

Lance just smiled, “How about this,” He started. 

 

The two of them made their way along the long beam heading toward the main console, where Keith cut in through the roof and they both dropped down onto the century that had been standing guard. Taking in his surroundings, Lance’s eyes fell onto the familiar red panel.

“See if you can figure that thing out,” Keith said, rushing over to the door to keep watch. Lance stared at him, down at the buttons that made no sense, then back at Keith.

“Hey uh, actually how about you try. I’m useless at these kinds of things.”

Keith raised a brow.

“I’ll keep watch,” He said, running past Keith, rifle in hand. 

“Uh, Okay?” Keith said slowly before peering over the controls. He pressed a few buttons which didn’t seem to be doing anything. Lance watched him from over his shoulder then cleared his throat to get his attention. 

“Uh, maybe try that thing,” He said, nodding to the handprint. 

Keith’s eyes fell onto the scanner before he very gingerly placed his hand there, and just like before, the hanger doors began to close. Lance grinned.

“Yeah! Great job buddy!”

Keith was quiet, squinting at the scanner and then at his hand, “How did you know that would work?”

“Uh, I didn’t. Just, you know…it looked important.”

“Why didn’t you try it then?” Keith asked.

“I- I did, okay. Now come on, we have to meet up with the others.”

“What? No one said-”

At that exact moment Shiro’s voice broke through their headsets, “Lance, Keith, start heading toward the core. We think Shay is there and it most likely will be an ambush. We’ll need everyone there if we want to get through this fire fight.”

Keith’s eyes widened and he lifted his head to stare at Lance. Lance awkwardly cleared his throat again and quickly responded, “Uh yeah, no worries, we’re on our way.”

 

Keith and Lance were running down the tunnel toward the core of the balmera.

“How did you know we needed to regroup?” Keith asked impatiently.

“Look, I just…Did okay. Remember that sixth sense I was talking about?”

“That isn’t a real thing!”

“Yeah it totally- Look out!” Lance quickly shoved Keith behind cover while also ducking down himself just before four centuries turned and started firing. Lance silently cursed to himself. He should have taken them down a different route.

Keith slightly peaked over his rock but was quickly forced back down when one of their lasers nearly took his head off. A loud moan rumbled along the caverns as chunks of the cave began breaking off and falling to the ground.

“Their shooting is destroying the Balmera!” Keith yelled. 

Lance looked passed him, seeing the ladder leading up and over the centuries. He smiled, remembering how well this worked out the last time.

“There!” He pointed, “I’ll direct their fire, you take them out!” Probably best to actually use words this time, he thought. Keith looked back at the ladder then shot him a thumbs up. He watched as the red paladin made his way up ladder. 

“So far so good,” Lance mumbled to himself. He took a deep breath then jumped out, “Hey!”

All the centuries pointed their guns at Lance and started firing. He quickly pulled out his shield and ducked behind it. He forgot the feeling of being shot at. It wasn’t exactly one he missed. The heat from the shots, the pressure that came when they hit his shield, the anxiety of one magically getting through and piercing his side.

“Come on Keith!” He yelled, trying really hard not to fall over, but soon enough the firing stopped, and once he peaked over his shield, he saw Keith standing there with his sword over a plethora of broken century parts. Lance grinned and gave him a thumbs up, but Keith just glared at him.

“What?” Lance asked.

Keith didn’t say anything for a moment, then reverted his bayard and continued down the tunnel, “Let’s keep moving,” He called back.

 

Everything worked out pretty much the same after that. The Galra trapped them at the core of the Balmera, but Shay managed to get them out by communicating with her people. Once out they all had to race to their lions before the Galra could take them. As Lance clambered into Blue, he remembered how the Robeast was due to arrive soon, but first they had to battle their way through the dozens of fighters that were still airborne. 

They all managed to fend them off pretty well, Lance really getting back into the groove with Blue’s controls. Though he had to admit, the excitement and thrill of being back was starting to waver thin, only to be replaced with serious concentration, and urgency. Bob told him it was his responsibility to keep his friends safe now, and he wasn’t about to forget it.

“Paladins! We need Voltron now!” Allura’s voice shrieked through the com system.

Lance looked up to see a Galra war ship firing on the castle of Lions.

‘Ok, same as before,’ Lance thought, trying not to panic.

“Everyone! Form Voltron!” Shiro shouted.

The adrenalin that came with forming Voltron during a battle was one Lance could never forget. The sheer excitement of their lions all coming together in order to become one collective unit. They could really hear each other’s thoughts. Feel each other’s movements. It was exhilarating.

Voltron sped up toward the Castle of Lions and redirected the Galra ships blast perfectly, allowing Allura and Coran to deliver a fatal blow to the craft.

Lance grinned, ‘Same as before.’

“Well done paladins!” Allura cheered, but it didn’t take long for her voice to shift over to concern, “Wait, I’m picking up something on the castle’s scanners.” 

Lance already knew what was coming, and tightened his grip on Blue’s controls, taking a deep breath.

 

The robeast chased Voltron around the Balmera for a good few minutes, firing off its laser located directly at the center of its chest. Each time Voltron attempted to gain the advantage of higher ground, the creature would just shoot it down.

Shiro grunted, “This thing is too powerful, we need to split up. It can’t hit us all at once!”

Lance’s eyes widened, “No! Wait!” But before he could say anything, the others had already disbanded, and just as Lance recalled, the monster stretched out its massive wingspan and hundreds of smaller lasers began firing at them.

“Ok, it can do that too!” Shiro admitted, frantically evading the lasers.

Lance watched as Hunk frantically tried avoiding the vibrant green beams coming at him from his front, only to get hit with several more on his left. Pidge and Keith were being beat around just as much, and Shiro wasn’t doing any better. Lance gritted his teeth, Bob’s words ringing in his head.

“Your friend’s safety is no longer guaranteed.”

He felt a fire of determination suddenly light up in his stomach as he forcefully took charge.

“We need to form back into Voltron! Now!”

“What,” Pidge said, “but we just established that doesn’t work!”

“Just trust me! I have a plan!”

There was a moment of hesitation before Shiro’s voice came through, “You heard the man, form Voltron!”

The five paladins quickly reformed into the giant robot as it continued to drive left and right, avoiding the various lasers.

“Hunk! Remember how Keith was able to make a sword for Voltron with his bayard?” Lance asked.

“Yeah?”

“See if you can do the same with yours! You’re weapon is a blaster right? If it works the same way then we should be able to even out the playing field.”

Hunk went quiet for a second, then excitement steadily filled his voice, “Lance, I think you’re right! I can hear my Lion telling me what to do!”

Lance grinned, “Then do it!”

Within seconds, Voltron had a shoulder cannon and was firing dozens of bright neon lasers. Upon attack the bug-eyed beast seized firing and staggered back, Voltron not giving it anytime to regain its footing. Eventually, it fell to its knees, twitching and sparking.

“Yeah!” Pidge yelled triumphantly.

“Nice thinking, Lance!” Shiro congratulated.

Lance shook his head, “Thanks, but it’s not over yet.”

The robeast lifted it’s head, and though it’s arms were now limp, the main laser located in its chest was still functional. A green beam of light flew out toward Voltron, which they managed to dodge fairly easily.

“We need to take that laser out!” Lance yelled.

“Charge it!” Keith screamed confidently, and everyone complied.

As Voltron flew straight at the robeast, its right arm pulled back and Keith let out a loud battle cry before the red lion came into clear contact with the monsters chest. It flew back and crashed into the ground. The force of the punch had cracked open the robeast chest plate and at first glance, deactivated it for good.

“Wooh! Alright!” Hunk cheered.

“Way to go team!” Shiro said.

Lance, however, knew they didn’t have much time before the creature regained energy. He quickly racked through his memory, eventually recalling it was the Balmera that saved them last time, but since he had sort of jumped the gun, it was still far too weak to do anything about it.

“Guys, you need to get out of there, the Balmera doesn’t have much longer,” Coran said.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“The Galra have taken so much of this poor Balmera’s energy without replenishing it, that it’s going to crumble in on itself.”

“What about the Balmeran’s?” Hunk asked, “They’ll die if we don’t do something!”

“We could try to evacuate the planet,” Allura recommended.

“There’s not enough time!” Lance cut in, “We need to replenish its life force!”

“How are we going to do that?” Pidge asked.

“Allura, Coran, you’re both Altean. You can perform some sort of ceremony, right?”

There was a silence, then Coran spoke up, “No, that’s impossible. We would need some kind of amplifier along with dozens of Balmeran’s to heal the entire creature.”

“Shay will help,” Hunk assured him, “I can go talk to her and her people.”

“That still leaves the problem with having no way to amplify the quintessence!” Coran pointed out.

“The castle,” Lance stated confidently, “It can be used as an amplifier.”

There was a long silence before the hesitant voice of Coran pushed through, “In theory…Yes but, Allura has only done anything like this once! I won’t have her risking her life!”

“She can do it,” Lance assured him, “I know she can.”

There was another silence. This one slightly longer than before. Eventually though, Allura’s voice pushed through.

“Very well.”

“But Princess--” Coran started.

“Lance is right, we don’t have enough time to evacuate the entire planet. This is our only option!”

“Ok, Hunk, go meet with the Balmeran’s. Tell them the plan,” Shiro said.

“You got it.”

And with that, Voltron disbanded, and the yellow Lion dove down into the mines. Meanwhile the others landed beside the Castle of Lions, which once landing, caused the Balmera beneath it to start glowing.

“Lance was right,” Coran muttered in disbelief, softly caressing the ground, “The spot under the castle has been healed.” 

Allura gingerly kneeled down and pressed her hand against the Balmera’s surface as well. Her body shivered, “I can feel it’s quintessence.”

Coran’s brow knitted together, a fatherly look of worry still plastered over his face. 

Lance turned back to look at the robeast. He didn’t know how much longer they had before it rebooted itself, but he made sure he was positioned in a way to where he could make a bee line for Blue when it happened.

“Something wrong?”

Lance looked over his shoulder to see Keith behind him, arms crossed, and brow furrowed. The tone in his voice was a chest tightening mixture of suspicion, and impatience.

“No. Everything’s fine,” Lance answered quickly, to which Keith just squinted. Lance mirrored the look, then directed his attention back to Allura.

 

Hunk managed to bring up a large handful of Balmerans in the Yellow Lion. They all were more than happy to help Allura if it meant saving their home.

“Princess, are you sure about this?” Coran asked one final time.

“Positive,” She answered soundly.

Coran slowly gave a nod as Allura positioned herself directly under the Castle. The Balmeran’s all circled around her before kneeling down and placing their hands onto the noble creature’s surface. Allura closed her eyes, taking in and letting out a deep breath. Her body slowly started to glow a blue tint just before a beam of light came down from the Castle of lions, illuminating her further. Lance watched in awe as she managed to build up as much quintessence from the castle as she could. However, he was pulled from his trance once a low hum vibrated from behind them. His head shot around just in time to see the foot of the robeast twitch. It was enough to send him running.

“Lance? What are you doing?” Shiro called out. He soon got his answer as the beast’s entire body started to shift, about to push itself up.

“Everyone! Get to your lions!” Shiro yelled, “Protect the princess!”

Everyone did as Shiro asked except Keith, who was just staring at Lance wide-eyed. He could tell Lance knew that would happen, and curiosity as well as confusion took over his thoughts.

“Keith! Get moving!” Shiro yelled.

Keith blinked, reeling himself back to reality and dashing to Red. Lance was already in the air at this time and firing his ice beam at the monster’s head. The beam hit, freezing its left eye, but only for a second before the robeast simply broke the shell by firing a laser right back. He swerved out of the way with ease. By this time all of the others had gotten back in their lions.

“How is this thing still alive?” Pidge yelled.

“No idea, but we can’t let it get to Allura!” Shiro yelled back.

“At least its arm things are out of commission still,” Hunk pointed out, only to get interrupted by its massive chest laser firing at him. He ducked out of the way, just barely missing it.

“It still seems pretty active all things considered,” Keith said.

“We just need to keep it distracted until Allura finishes her thing,” Lance said.

“And then what?” Pidge asked.

“Uh…Then-”

Keith cut it, “Just worry about the robeast for now, after that things will work themselves out…right, Lance?”

There was a pause, Lance staring at Keith, whose face had appeared on his monitor. He knew something was up, Lance could see it in his eyes. Slowly he gave a slight nod, “Yeah.”

“Alright then, Everybody, Form Voltron!” Shiro yelled.

Once again, the team flew into formation, creating the defender of the universe one more time. Now things were somewhat out of Lance’s control. They just needed to keep this thing occupied until the Balmera was healed. Hunk reformed Voltrons shoulder cannon, firing it at the beast and hitting it directly in the head. It knocked it back, but only for a second before it’s body sprung itself upright, shooting a quick yet powerful burst out from its eyes. Pidge raised Voltron’s shield, which helped with keeping them relatively safe, but wasn’t enough to keep them from getting pushed back.

The massive robot fell onto its side, about half a mile away from the castle and Allura. Lance looked back at her. Just a little bit longer he thought, but when he went to move the right leg of Voltron, he found it was unresponsive.

“What? Guys what’s happening? Why can’t we move?”

“I...I can’t…” Hunk said breathlessly.

Pidge’s voice came through next, with the same out of breath infliction, “Forming Voltron so many times in one battle isn’t something we’re use to,” She took a breath, “We’re completely worn out.”

“What?” Lance yelled, looking back up at the robeast. Seeing Voltron out of commission, it’s attention slowly turned to the castle.

“No! No, no no no!” He started frantically trying to use his controls. The eyes of the blue lion flickered, and the leg moved slightly, but the rest of Voltron was completely motionless. The heavy steps of the robeast shoot the ground beneath them as it began marching closer to the Castle.

“We have to do something!” Keith yelled, though he sounded just as tired as the rest of the team.

Lance was starting to panic as the robeast stopped and pushed out it’s chest, preparing to fire.

“Allura!” He screamed, suddenly using enough of his matured energy to actually tear away from Voltron.

“Lance!?” Shiro yelled.

Lance wasn’t really thinking clearly, he just knew he couldn’t let Allura die again. Blue shot forward, crossing in front of the beam just in time to catch it head on. Everything went white, and the last thing he heard was everyone scream out his name – then silence.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His eyes scanned over his blurred face, landing on his cheekbones. Very slowly he took his fingers and ran them over the place where his blue Altean marks used to be. He actually really enjoyed not seeing them anymore. Just because it meant Allura was alive, and there was nothing to miss anymore. She was there, breathing, smiling, and living.  
>  As a smile crept across his own lips, he was interrupted by a knock at his door.  
>  “Yeah?” He asked.  
>  The door slid open to reveal none other than the red paladin. Lance’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he sat up, “Keith?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy this chapter, this around where things really start getting interesting and it's less restating the basic plot of actual episodes.

Lance felt his body floating weightlessly once again. At this point he had kind of gotten used to it. He opened his eyes and saw Bob in front of him. His short arms were crossed with a displeased look painted over his face. Lance just stared at him calmly, not trying to be angry, sad, or even happy about what he had just done.

“Am I dead?” He asked quietly.

“No,” Bob answered, sounding more like a stern parent than anything else.

Lance let out a small sigh of relief as Bob unfolded his arms and moved a little closer. 

“Lance…You are a good man. Truly you are. Being a good man is what made you a great paladin…But when I told you that you had a responsibility to keep your friends safe, this isn’t what I meant.”

Lance’s expression hardened, “I couldn’t let Allura die! Not again!”

“I understand that, but next time something like this happens, you need to decide if saving one life at the cost of your own is worth not being there to potentially save countless others.”

Lance squinted, “What are you talking about? Do you know what’s going to happen in this timeline?”

Bob shook his head, “No, I don’t. Since this timeline is centered around you, I can only see it from your perspective.”

“So then why are you telling me this?”

“I’m just warning you-”

“You’ve already warned me! You said my friends could die at any second now! That I’ve officially triggered a new timeline! So when I see the love of my life about to die-…” Lance trailed off, his eyes tilted downward beginning to tear up, “I can’t…I can’t go through that again…I came back to see her…I can’t lose her for a second time…”

Bob stared at him as the tears slowly floated out from the corners of his eyes. The alien reached out, cupping his hand around one of the droplets, keeping it stationary just above his palm. The sphere of water slowly became cloudy with a sky blue hue.

“I know, Lance…But please try to remember, there are more people that need you other than Allura.”

As those words left his mouth, the color steadily shifted from blue to red before evaporating into nothing.

 

Lance felt his body stumble forward before being caught by a pair of large, strong arms. He lifted his head to see Hunk’s bright face smiling down at him.

“Hey! How are you feeling?”

Lance blinked, adjusting his body so that he was standing upright, or at least as much as he could.

“Dizzy…What happened?”

“You risked your life to save us.”

Lance looked up to see Allura standing a few feet from him, smiling. His chest suddenly felt lighter and a smile spread across his face.

“Just doing my job,” He uttered jokingly, trying to straighten his stance but almost collapsed immediately. Hunk caught him before his knees met the metal floor.

“He needs rest,” Allura said, “Better take him to his room.”

“You should do the same Princess, you used up a lot of your energy to heal the Balmera.”

Allura looked over at Coran a little defensively, “But I-…” She cut herself off as a slight dizzy spell came over her. She sighed, grabbing her head, “Very well.”

 

Hunk lead Lance to his bunk and basically tucked him into bed like a loving mother. Lance gave him a cheeky smile.

“Will you read me a bedtime story too?”

Hunk chuckled, “Maybe next time. Just get some sleep for now, alright? Me and Pidge will see you when you get up.”

“Okay,” He cooed as Hunk contently left the room.

Lance watched the door slide shut then let out a small sigh, folding his hands behind his head. He stared at the top of his bunk blankly. The shine of the metal was polished enough for him to see a slightly distorted reflection of himself. His eyes scanned over his blurred face, landing on his cheekbones. Very slowly he took his fingers and ran them over the place where his blue Altean marks used to be. He actually really enjoyed not seeing them anymore. Just because it meant Allura was alive, and there was nothing to miss anymore. She was there, breathing, smiling, and living.

As a smile crept across his own lips, he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

“Yeah?” He asked.

The door slid open to reveal none other than the red paladin. Lance’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he sat up, “Keith?”

Keith stepped in, allowing the doors to close behind him before speaking.

“Sorry, I didn’t wake you, did I?” He asked, sounding gentler than Lance was used to, at least not with that younger face.

“No, you didn’t. What’s up?”

Keith’s eyes pulled away from him, as if he was about to bring up some kind of sensitive subject.

“First off…Um…I’m glad to see you’re okay. That was…Well…I guess that was something I would have done. Act before thinking.”

Lance gave a small smile, “Yeah, probably.”

Now Keith’s eyes were back on him, the look was no longer hesitant, but intrigued and suspicious.

“What?” Lance asked.

Finally breaking the gaze, Keith walked over to the desk and pulled the chair out so he could sit and talk comfortably.

“Ever since we got here you’ve been…different.”

Lance felt his stomach tighten, but tried his best to play it off as casual, “Why thank you, I try.”

“N-no, that’s not what I mean. I know we haven’t really known each other that long, so I honestly don’t know what you are like normally, but…I can tell that you’ve known things. Things you shouldn’t be able to know.”

Lance frowned, Keith had definitely cracked it, or at least was getting close to cracking it.

“You can fly your lion better than anyone here. You can predict how a fight is going to end before it does, and after a day of being stranded here, you act like you’ve lived in this castle for years…almost like you’ve been through all of this before.”

Lance just stared at him silently. Lips pressed together and jaw slightly clenched. 

“How? How can that even be possible?” Keith said while leaning forward in his chair, slightly gripping his own knee. Lance slowly turned his head, not quite sure what to say.

“Why do you know all this stuff? It can’t just be me being paranoid!”

Again, Lance kept his lips sealed, purposefully avoiding eye contact. Suddenly Keith growled and lunged forward, grabbing Lances shirt collar and forcing their eyes to meet.  
“Don’t give me the silent treatment! Something is up that you aren’t telling us, and I want to know what the hell it is!”

The sudden surge of emotion triggered Lance’s heart rate to increase and a wave of frustration to cloud his immediate thoughts. In a fit of anger, he snapped right back at him, screaming, “I can’t!”

Keith froze as Lance just glared at him. But just as quickly as the tension rose, it died down, and Lance allowed his eyes to soften, “…I’m sorry...I can’t tell you something that isn’t there…It’s all in your head.”

Keith stared at him, his eyes overflowing with immediate guilt. Slowly he let go of his collar, taking a step back. The two stared each other down for a moment before Keith let his eyes fall to the ground.

“Sorry,” He muttered, “This was stupid…I won’t bother you again.” He then quickly turned and marched out of the room.

 

That night Lance laid in his bed wide awake. He kept thinking about the look on Keith’s face. The urgency. He could tell he wanted Lance to say something specific. Give him some kind of answer. One that would put his mind at ease.

‘What would he want to know so badly?’ Lance thought.

He slowly sat up in his bed. That had been aside to Keith he hadn’t seen in a long time. His abrasive, hot headed side. He had really grown out of that over the years, though given the circumstances he shouldn’t have been too surprised. This was young Keith, before he really found out who he was.

Lance’s eyes suddenly widened as the realization hit him. That must have been it, Keith must have thought Lance could tell him more about himself. He felt his chest tighten slightly as the idea raced through his head. Should he tell him? Was that even allowed? Out of everything Bob had warned him about, he never said anything about telling the others of his past life. Granted that could’ve also been because Bob figured it was such an obvious thing to avoid he wouldn’t need to spell it out for him.

Lance raked his fingers through his hair and bit his lip. Keith looked so desperate and hopeful and given everything they had been through together, it honestly felt wrong to keep it from him. He legitimately wanted to put him at ease, finding it really hard to see him so upset. It must have been because they had grown so close in his timeline. 

He was drawn out of his internal dilemma when the lights in his room started to flicker. He blinked wondering what kind of malfunction was going on. He then heard three slow, dreary knocks at his door that made his stomach drop.

“Hello?” He asked hesitantly.

There was no answer, very slowly he got out of bed and opened his door. No one was there. He leaned out, half expecting to see Pidge or Hunk dash around a corner giggling.  
“Lance,” Allura’s voice echoed through the halls.

His eyes widened slightly, “Allura?” He stepped further out of his room.

She giggled, “I’ve missed you so much, Lance.”

She didn’t sound normal, something was way off. He started gingerly walking toward the sound of her voice.

“Allura? Is everything okay?”

“You saved me Lance, you saved me this time. Something you couldn’t do before.”

Lance’s pace slowed, “What?”

“Lance,” She sang again, “Lance can you hear me?”

He squinted, “Where are you?” He walked further down the hall.

“I’m right here Lance. I’ve missed you so much!”

Suddenly fast, violent footsteps sprinted up from behind him, giving very little time for him to spin around. When he did, he only saw the blurred figure of the gladiator training droid charging him, its one eye glowing blood red. He screamed, frantically stumbling backward as it took a swipe at him with its Altean staff. It then lifted its arms for a fatal blow, but before it could finish the job, a red blade plunged through its chest, causing it to spark and twitch uncontrollably. Soon enough it’s single eye faded and the owner of the blade aggressively threw it onto the ground, revealing Keith’s panting figure.

“Keith! Oh thank god!”

The red paladin dressed only in his black t-shirt, regular matching pants and red boots, walked over to help him up, “Something went wrong with the training simulation. It just went crazy on me halfway through,” He said.

Lance’s memory clicked into place. This must be when Alfor’s disk became corrupted.

“We need to find Allura!” He stated urgently.

“What? Why?”

Lance stared at him, then clenched his jaw. He frantically tried to think of some clever excuse, but to his surprise, Keith gave a look of slight clarity. He still must have thought Lance had some kind of foresight in the situation despite their earlier conversation. 

“Lead the way,” He said confidently.

 

Keith and Lance caught up to Allura just as she was about to place her hand on the wormhole controls for the castle. She looked as if she were in a daze. Lance ran up and grabbed her wrists, pulling her back.

“Lance? What are you doing?” She sighed lazily.

“Allura, come on snap out of it!”

“What’s going on?” Keith yelled.

Suddenly there was a flash and a sudden shock, punching Lance away him from Allura. He flew back, landing hard on his side. Keith quickly kneeled to help him up. The two turned to see the angered face of King Alfor glaring at them behind a large particle barrier that was now surrounding Allura.

“Stay away from my daughter!”

“Is that-” Keith started, but Lance cut him off.

“It’s that Galra’s crystal. When they hooked it up to the castle it left a virus that’s been slowly corrupting everything! Even King Alfor’s hologram.”

Allura stepped back onto the platform and lifted her hand to place them on the wormhole controls.

“Allura! Don’t-”

But it was too late, she rested her hand on the controls and suddenly the castle was orbiting a giant star about to supernova. Just like before.  
Keith’s eyes widened, “Princess! What are you doing?!”

The hologram of King Alfor suddenly appeared beside her, “Welcome home my daughter.”

Keith growled, pulled out his sword and began to try slicing the particle barrier. Alfor glared at him over his shoulder and a shock from the barrier shot Keith back the same way it did Lance.

“She’s gone crazy!” Keith yelled.

“No, she thinks that star is Altea. We need to snap her out of it!”

“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?”

Lance tried to think, but all he was doing was drawing blanks. How did they snap her out of it last time? Coran was the one that did it, right? He described something to her. What was it?

Her father's hologram hugged her closer as he pointed out the window of the ship, “Look Allura, juniper berries as far as the eye can see. Your favorite.”

Allura smiled giddily at the hallucination she was now living, “Oh, it’s beautiful father!”

All at once it hit Lance. Juniper berries! That’s what Coran described to her! He ran up to the barrier and slammed his fists against it.

“Allura! Allura please hear me! Those Juniper Berries, they aren’t real! Smell them!” Lance actually closed his eyes, trying to recall the scent from when he grew them on earth after her death, “The smell of sweet honey and fresh soil after rain. That warm sensation that makes you feel at home!”

He could feel Keith’s stare drilling into the back of his head, but he didn’t care. He opened his eyes again which were starting to fill with tears at the memory of him crying by a bed of those very flowers. Remember her smiling face, thinking he would never see it again.

“Smell them Allura, they aren’t real!”

Allura stood there motionless for a second. The smile on her face slowly faded into a confused frown. Soon her eyes shot open as she let out an audible gasp as her eyes seemed to lock on the burning star infront of the castle for the very first time. 

“W-what happened?!”

“Allura,” Alfor’s hologram sang, “Aren’t you happy to be home?”

“Father?! What have you done?!” She frantically reached for the controls to turn the ship around, but the touch of the panel sent a shock through her that flung her backward. Lance managed to catch her before her body hit the ground. She then immediately stood up, slamming her fists on the particle barrier.

“Father! Please stop this!”

“That isn’t your dad,” Lance said, “It’s his file but it’s been corrupted by that Galra crystal! I’m sorry Allura but you need to shut it off!”

She spun around, “What?”

“Don’t listen to him Allura!” The hologram flickered before the real Alfor managed to break through for a split second, “He’s right Allura! Please! You must destroy- ” He stuttered again, reverting back to the virus, “Destroy the lions. The universe is doomed, either way!”

Allura stared at her father, clenched her jaw and hardened her eyes. She turned and started marching past Lance and Keith.

“Get the other paladins. Use the lions to slow the descent of the castle for as long as you can.”

Both the red and blue paladin nodded as she left. Lance turned to Keith.

“You go find Shiro, I think I know where Hunk and Pidge are.”

“Right,” Keith nodded.

 

As Lance remembered, Pidge and Hunk were floating helplessly in the green lions hanger bay due to the virus turning the anti-gravity system on in that room, which he fixed by simply opening the doors. The three of them then flew out in their lions and got in position to try and push the castle back. Keith and Shiro still hadn’t shown up yet.

“Where are they?” Pidge yelled.

Lance spoke into his mic, “Keith? Keith where are you guys?! We need you out here!”

Suddenly the red lion flew out from the hanger bay, alone. Lance squinted as the lion took it’s position next to him.

“Keith? Where’s Shiro?”

There was no response.

“Keith?”

Suddenly he screamed back, “I don’t know!”

There was a shocked silence throughout the team before Hunk broke it, “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean I don’t know!” He yelled again, this time his voice cracked a little, as if he were on the verge of tears. Lance’s eyes were glued to the red lion. His stomach was beginning to chirn and his chest tighten. Something was wrong. Nothing was suppose to happen to Shiro this early on. 

The star sparked more, reminding everyone that they were on the verge of being destroyed for good.

“Alright well…We’re just going to have to do this without him then,” Lance said as he kicked up his boosters. Pidge and Hunk followed his lead, then eventually so did Keith.

 

Allura reported back, saying she had destroyed the hologram and the castle was back under her control. Hearing the news, they all withdrew from the side of the castle and flew back into their respective hangers. Soon enough, the castle had retreated through a wormhole and was now out of harm's way. Everyone was still a bit hyped up on adrenalin, having just barely escaped such an uncontrollable event, but Lance still managed to make his way out of Blue and dash over to Red. The question about Shiro still burning in his mind, and the dread steadily building in his chest. 

As Keith emerged from his lion, he looked more than a little distressed.

Lance slowed to a stop, “Keith?” He said with as gentle a tone as he could muster.

The other paladins ran up behind him with mirroring expressions. Keith lifted his head to peer at them, his eyes weak with worry.

“What did you mean you don’t know where Shiro is?” Pidge asked.

They all soon got their answer as Keith lead them down the corridor where Sendak was being held, only to find the glass containment chamber smashed open and reports of one of the escape pods missing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was pulled away from his daydreaming as he passed Keith’s closed door. His gleeful aura died down as he slowed to a stop. As depressed as Allura was, he could only imagine what Keith was going through.

Lance was sitting in the gathering room alone, stretched out on the sofa. He was staring up at the ceiling quietly. His thoughts racing. It was suspected that Sendak had awoken from his stasis and kidnapped Shiro. All the evidence pointed to it and Lance couldn’t help but feel responsible. Something he had done must have caused this. Maybe the whole butterfly effect theory? But for the life of him, he couldn’t pinpoint what specifically he had done to trigger it. Not that it really mattered now. Shiro was gone. Gone far too early. The team wasn’t ready for it. They were only just starting to feel connected and get used to having such a strong, and motivating leader. Now that leader was gone…

  
The doors slid open to reveal Allura. She looked almost as bad as Keith did when he first walked out of the red lion. Lance sat up.

  
“Allura,” He muttered.

  
She seemed surprised to see him, “Oh, sorry Lance, I didn’t know-”

  
Lance quickly shook his head, “No, it’s okay. What’s up?”

  
She looked down, gently leaning against the wall, “I just…wanted some time alone I guess.”

  
Lance frowned a little, his heartbreaking for her. She had not only just lost her father for a second time but Shiro as well. The pilot of the black lion. Without him, there was no Voltron. He slowly stood up.

  
“I’ll give you some space then.”

  
“Wait!” She called after him. He stopped and looked over at her. She sighed, “Actually, I don’t think I would mind your company.”

  
Lance stared at her, his heart rate picking up a little. “Okay,” He said with a nod.

  
He sat back down and Allura moved around to take a seat beside him.

  
“Everything seems to just be falling apart. I know I’m supposed to continue preaching hope, but…It’s just…”

  
“Don’t worry, I know how you feel…Losing someone you love and…knowing you need to keep your head above water for the sake of the people around you can be rough.”

  
Allura looked over at him, “You’ve lost someone you loved?”

  
Lance swallowed, finding it hard to look at her now, “…Yeah. My girlfriend.”

  
Allura’s eyes saddened, “Oh…Lance, I’m so sorry.”

  
He took a deep breath, “Yeah…well, it was hard for a really long time but…I’m better now,” He cracked a small smile.

  
Allura couldn’t help but mirror the look, “I envy your strength, Lance.”

  
Lance finally turned his head to look at her. Very slowly he shook his head, “Trust me, It’s your strength I envy…Allura.”

  
The two found each other just staring into the other’s eyes. She seemed a little taken aback by the softness in his voice, but didn’t pull away from him.

  
“There’s something about you Lance,” She said quietly, “Your eyes…It feels like I can really trust them.”

  
As Lance stared at her, he slowly lifted his hand to brush one of her silver strands out of her face, “You can…I promise.”

  
Without really thinking about it, he found himself gently caressing her cheek. She leaned into his hand slightly. The movement triggered a memory for Lance. A memory of Allura looking just as she did at that moment, only with her hair tied back and wearing a pink garrison uniform. The memory was enough to cause Lance to instinctively lean in for a kiss. He felt Allura’s body begin to do the same but suddenly stop and turn her head away.

  
Lance reopened his eyes and was immediately slapped in the face by reality.

  
“I-I’m so sorry,” He said quickly, pulling his hand away, “I didn’t mean to-”

  
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean any harm. This just isn’t the right time to start anything like this.”

  
Lance nodded in complete agreement, looking down, gently rubbing his head. Allura stared at him for a moment, then took his free hand in her own, “Maybe…after all of this is over, and Zarkon is defeated…we can-” She trailed off, but Lance didn’t need her to finish.

  
“Yeah, I’d like that,” He said eagerly, he peered at her and smiled, gently gripping her hand back, “…I’d really like that.”

  
Allura slowly smiled.

 

Lance meandered back down the hall to his room, smiling the whole way, his heart feeling lighter than ever. Allura liked him. She truly liked him, and this early on. Now they had their whole life ahead of them, they would defeat Zarkon, Lotor, and Honerva. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and then they could grow old together, retire together, maybe even have children together.

  
He was pulled away from his daydreaming as he passed Keith’s closed door. His gleeful aura died down as he slowed to a stop. As depressed as Allura was, he could only imagine what Keith was going through. Shiro was like his older brother. Out of all the paladins, Shiro was most definitely the one he loved the most. Lance frowned, letting out a slight sigh. Very slowly he swayed his body back around and gave a gently few knocks at his door.

  
“Hey, Keith? You in there?”

  
There was no response.

  
“Uh, look…If you are in there, I just wanted to say…If you need to talk, I’m more than willing to listen. I know this must be really hard for you, and…you probably won’t believe me but I know what you’re going through.”

  
Again, no response. Lance looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. He then turned around and started heading back to his room, but he hadn’t even taken three steps before he heard the door open. Lance looked back around to see Keith standing there. His dark bangs hung in front of his red puffy, vulnerable eyes.

  
“…Crazy enough, I think I do believe you.” His voice was thin and unsteady.

  
Lance stared at him, It was a shock in itself to see Keith, the most talented and potentially bravest paladin look so...broken.

  
“You wanna talk?” Lance eventually asked.

  
Keith nervously rubbed the inside of his finger with his thumb a few times before nodding.

 

Lance didn’t get back to his room until late, but he honestly didn’t mind. Keith seemed to really need someone to talk to. He thought back on how isolated he used to be, and it was surprising to watch him open up like that to him. Keith told him stories about when he was a kid with his dad, then about how he got into the Garrison thanks to Shiro. How much hated it, especially Griffen, the asshole everyone despised. The two of them actually shared a few laughs over the memories of the guy. Lance updated Keith on how things changed after he left, and joked about the heartbreak he suffered for not having a rival to surpass.

  
After a while though, Keith started to catch on that Lance was growing tired, and told him he could leave if he wanted to. Lance tried to protest, but Keith was insistent he not lose sleep on his account. Lance found his caring nature toward him off-putting. This was not at all how he used to act, especially after Shiro’s disappearance. Lance had to admit though, he admired the change in character.

  
The blue paladin yawned and collapsed into his bed. Laying there in the dark, his mind began to wander to Keith. Despite how much he had just opened up to him, Lance knew throughout the conversation that Keith was holding back something. Most likely his questions about the foresight Lance seemed to have. He was really starting to debate with himself about telling Keith. At least just the stuff he wanted to know. The conflicting thought continued to swim across his mind as he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

 

“Bob? Bob are you there?”

  
Lance opened his eyes to see he was floating again, surrounded by the thousands of stars and colors. The figure of Bob slowly morphed in front of him.

  
“This is the first time you’ve called me here, Lance.”

  
Lance looked at him, giving a small nod, “I need your help.”

  
Bob raised a brow, “Oh? About Keith?”

  
Lance nodded, “He knows there’s something different about me, and part of me really wants to tell him. Let him know where he’s from, who his mom is. Everything.”

  
Bob sighed, scratching the back of his head, “This is risky territory, Lance. I’ve dealt with timelines and parallel universes crossing over before. It doesn’t tend to be pretty.”

  
“But this isn’t a parallel universe. You said yourself it’s a whole new timeline.”

  
Bob nodded, “That’s where the gray area begins. Theoretically, it should be safe, but you will have to take into consideration how certain snippets of information will affect the course of this timeline in comparison to yours.”

  
Lance looked down a little, thinking to himself.

  
“It’s your decision. Whether you want to keep your knowledge isolated for your friend’s safety, or if you want to take a risk for Keith’s sake.”

  
Lance sighed, “One friend has already gone missing because of me being here.”

  
Bob looked down, “This is your timeline. In the end, it’s your call to make.”

 

The next morning Lance sat in the kitchen, still in his blue lion robes. He was poking at some of the castle’s green food goo, not really all that hungry. Pidge slowly meandered in, stretching and yawning, having just woken up.

  
“Morning,” She said, grabbing a plate.

  
Lance nodded at her as she filled it with the edible green sludge and took a seat next to him.

  
“How have you been holding up?” She asked.

  
“Fine, all things considered,” He admitted.

  
Pidge nodded, taking a bite of her breakfast.

  
“How about you?” He asked.

  
Pidge gave a little shrug, “…Could be better.”

  
Lance gave a sympathetic nod, forcing himself to take a bite of his own food.

  
“Still, I can’t even begin to think of what Keith is going through though,” Pidge said.

  
A twinge of guilt stabbed into Lance’s stomach and he slowly nodded.

  
“Do you know how long they knew each other?” She asked.

  
“Keith told me ever since he first joined the Garrison. He was the only person he felt he could trust,” Lance sighed again, setting down his fork, “I can’t help but feel this is my fault.”  
Pidge raised a brow, “How could it have been your fault?”

  
He looked down, “I just…I should have been paying more attention.”

  
Pidge stared at him, then shook her head, “Lance, you saved Allura, and the Castle. No one is blaming you.”

  
He cracked the smallest of smiles, “Thanks Pidge.”

  
“Don’t mention it,” She said before nudging his plate closer to him, “Eat up, I have a feeling we’re going to be really busy for the next few weeks.”

 

Allura stood at the head of the table where all the paladins had gathered around. She was silent for a moment before taking a breath, “This isn’t a meeting I wanted to have this early on in our conquest but…” Her eyes drifted over to Lance. He gave her a reassuring nod. She nodded back and took in a deep breath before continuing.

  
“In light of what has happened…We must decide what our next moves will be. Currently, we are at a standstill. We cannot form Voltron without our black paladin.”

  
Lance could sense Keith’s entire body tense up beside him.

  
“Which is why I propose we attempt a rescue mission,” Allura said with a determined look in her eye.

  
Everyone seemed to perk up at the thought, especially Keith, his head snapping up from its turned downward position.

  
“Princess, are you sure?” Coran asked.

  
She nodded, “I will not give up on Shiro so easily. Only if the plan fails…” She trailed off at the thought, slowly taking another breath, “If we are not able to bring back Shiro then, and only then will we look for a new pilot.”

  
Lance felt his eyes hesitantly drift over to Keith, who’s face looked so hopeful as well as determined. Should he tell him? Is this a good time to? He lightly bit the inside of his cheek, unsure.

 

Pidge used a scan she previously took from Shiro’s synthetic arm to pinpoint where he had been taken. It turned out to only be on one of the Galra’s smaller bases, but it was still enough to put Lance on edge. This was a mission that never happened to him. He would be going in blind.

  
Allura decided the team would leave within the following hour. The main goal was to sneak in, get Shiro out, and leave as quickly as possible. Only a small handful would enter the base to search while the others stood by in case things got messy. Keith obviously volunteered to be apart of the search. Lance was the second. He needed to make sure Shiro was okay and try everything to get him back.

  
Pidge offered to fly them in and out since the Green Lion had a cloaking ability. Hunk chose to stay with Allura and Coran as back up if needed.

  
“I’ve programmed Shiro’s scan into your armor. You should be able to use it as a sort of compass to find him,” Pidge said as the Green lion moved in close and locked onto the outer shell of the base.

  
“Good luck,” She added.

  
Both Lance and Keith gave her a nod as the two adjusted their helmets so they could breathe, they then flew out from the green lion. Using their jetpacks, they managed to climb onto the outside of the ship to which Keith carved an opening into with his sword. They floated into the ship’s cargo bay. Once touching down, Lance was the one to contact the ship and let them know they were in. Keith had already bolted forward, sprinting down the hall.

  
“Keith!” Lance hissed, rushing after him. He managed to catch up and grab his arm, pulling him back, “We really shouldn’t split up in here!”

  
Keith gave him a small glare, “We will cover more ground if we do!”

  
Lance hesitated, he made a solid point, but his grip only tightened around his arm. Keith’s glare faded, but only a little.

  
“…What will happen?”

  
Lance stared at him, then slowly let go, “…I don’t know. That’s the thing.”

  
Keith was quiet, but he didn’t look any less determined. He took in a let out a breath, taking half a step closer.

  
“Shiro believed in me when no one else would. I can’t lose him.”

  
Lance frowned, “I know, I just…” He lifted his hand to press it against his helmet, his next words startled him a little with how genuinely he felt about them, “I can’t lose you either.”  
Keith looked a bit taken aback by this, and Lance didn’t blame him. It was a bit of a dramatically odd thing for him to admit since technically they had only known each other for a few days. Keith had been smart enough to fill in a few of the blanks so far though. He recognized the fact the Lance knew more about him than he was letting on. More about everyone really. However, even so, it didn’t seem to persuade him.

  
“I’ll be fine. I know how to take care of myself,” He said, sounding almost a little offended.

  
Lance bit his lip before eventually letting out a sigh, giving in, “Okay, in that case, you take that hallway, I’ll take the other. We’ll contact each other if we either find Shiro or get into trouble. Deal?”

  
Keith nodded, “Fine.”

  
And with that, Keith turned and bolted down the hall. Lance stood and watched him before slowly pulling out his bayard. He sighed, “Don’t get killed,” He whispered, then turned to head down the separate hall.


End file.
